Sorghum Diseases in India

Sorghum and Sorghum Diseases in Japan
Takashi Kimigafukuro 1
Abstract
Sorghum has been a crop in Japan since the 14th century, when the cereal was introduced from
China. It became a food crop in high districts not suited for paddy rice. Following the world war II,
sowings dwindled; in 1965 the government dropped sorghum production from its statistical
records. With the development of Japan's livestock industry, sorghum became a valued animal feed
and production records were reinitiated in 1973, when 1 334 000 t of forage were produced on
19 300 ha. By 1985 hectarage had nearly doubled, with 35 000 ha producing 2 385 000 t.
Sugarcane mosaic and bacterial leaf stripe (Pseudomonas andropogonis) have been recorded
on sorghum in Japan. Most numerous are the fungal diseases, including two that may be unknown
in other sorghum-growing areas. Hayake-byou (Kabatiella sorghi) occurs in most parts of Japan;
yellow spot (Cercospora koepkei var sorghi) was first reported in Japan in 1940. A major thrust
of the sorghum improvement program in Japan is varietal resistance to banded leaf and sheath
blight, (Rhizoctonia solani), as this disease is common in Japan and is of the same R. solani
group responsible for important diseases of rice and com in the country.
Introduction
Sorghum was probably introduced into Japan
from China in the 14th century. Since then, the
cereal has been cultivated as grain sorghum for
food in mountain districts where paddy rice
could not be cultivated. However, the cultivation
of sorghum decreased considerably after
World War II, a consequence of the stabilization
of Japan's food supply. In 1965, sorghum statistics
were no longer listed in government statistical
records.
With the development of a livestock industry
in Japan around 1960, forage sorghum has attracted
attention as an animal feed, because of
its wide range of adaptability to various environmental
conditions, high yields, suitability for
mechanization, and lodging resistance. Hectarage
sown to sorghum reappeared in the statistical
records relating to feed crops in 1973. The
1. Plant Pathologist, National Grassland Research Institute, Japan.
hectarage sown to sorghum increased rapidly
until 1981, but has remained at the same level
since 1982 (Table 1).
In Japan, sorghum competes with maize as a
summer feed crop and production is increasing
in the southwestern districts of Japan. In this
region sorghum is one of the best options for the
farmer, as it is more resistant to drought, heat,
and lodging than is maize. The cultivation of
sorghum has not become a practice in all regions
of Japan, as sorghum does not grow as well under
low temperature as does maize. Furthermore
the digestibility and palatability of silage
made of sorghum are inferior to those of maize
silage. Sorghum, with its high yielding ability, is
the better forage crop when conditions are suitable.
To expand the area sown to sorghum, it is
necessary to develop hybrid varieties which are
more adapted to the Japanese climate and to improve
methods for preparing sorghum silage.
Kimigafukuro, T. 1992. Sorghum and sorghum diseases in Japan. Pages 31-34 in Sorghum and millets diseases: a second world
review. (de Milliano, W.A.J., Frederiksen, R.A., and Bengston, CD., eds). Patancheru, A.P. 502 324, India: International Crops
Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.
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